Catastrophic landslides are not uncommon in the Three Gorges area in China during rainy seasons. It is anticipated that the frequency of landslides will increase as a result of the impoundment of the reservoir of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station, and this has prompted geotechnical researchers to pay special attention to the problem. This paper introduces a landslide model test system, which allows studying of landslides induced by the combined effect of reservoir impoundment and rainfall. The system consists of a large flume with hydraulic lifting facilities, a set of computer-controlled surface sprinklers and pipes to simulate rainfall and reservoir impoundment, as well as a comprehensive instrumentation and data acquisition system. A model test carried out to study the Shiliushubao landslide, which occurred in the Three Georges Reservoir area, is presented to demonstrate the potential application of the test system. It is shown that the horizontal and the vertical displacements are abruptly increasing, when the reservoir impoundment and rainfall are combined, which cause the failure of the model slope.

key laboratory of prevention and control disaster of China Three Gorges University

Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong

Funding Information:

This research is supported by the Ministry of Land and Resources P.R.C., the Department of Science and Technology of Hubei Province, and the Department of Education of Hubei Province. The authors are grateful to the generous support provided by the key laboratory of prevention and control disaster of China Three Gorges University. The financial support provided by the Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong to the first author to visit the Department is also acknowledged.

Catastrophic landslides are not uncommon in the Three Gorges area in China during rainy seasons. It is anticipated that the frequency of landslides will increase as a result of the impoundment of the reservoir of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station, and this has prompted geotechnical researchers to pay special attention to the problem. This paper introduces a landslide model test system, which allows studying of landslides induced by the combined effect of reservoir impoundment and rainfall. The system consists of a large flume with hydraulic lifting facilities, a set of computer-controlled surface sprinklers and pipes to simulate rainfall and reservoir impoundment, as well as a comprehensive instrumentation and data acquisition system. A model test carried out to study the Shiliushubao landslide, which occurred in the Three Georges Reservoir area, is presented to demonstrate the potential application of the test system. It is shown that the horizontal and the vertical displacements are abruptly increasing, when the reservoir impoundment and rainfall are combined, which cause the failure of the model slope.

en_US

dc.language

eng

en_US

dc.publisher

Japanese Geotechnical Society. The Journal's web site is located at http://www.jiban.or.jp/e/

en_US

dc.relation.ispartof

Soils and Foundations

en_US

dc.subject

Flume Test

en_US

dc.subject

Landslide

en_US

dc.subject

Model Test

en_US

dc.subject

Rainfall

en_US

dc.subject

Reservoir Impoundment

en_US

dc.title

Landslide model test system and its application on the study of Shiliushubao landslide in Three Gorges Reservoir area